Thursday, June 04, 2015

Everybody loves rookies. They bring much promise and opportunity for a club looking to improve, and fans grow eager by the minute hoping to see their next favorite player wow them on the field. Collectors love rookies for many of the same reasons. Sets focused on up-'n-coming players creates an opportunity to chase after the next great star.

Last week Topps released their newest set, and it's a product focused on some of the top rated prospects in the game. It is called 2015 Topps Pro Debut, and there are five Dodger high-flyers in the base set. Check them all out below. I've included example pics of the reverse of most of the cards. Go here to see a complete checklist of the set. Tomorrow I'll have photos of all the insert cards that are available.

True to their word, Charter Communications, who is currently in the process of purchasing Time Warner, will make SportsNet LA available to all of their customers next week, Tuesday, June 9th.

When they had originally announced that they would open up this channel for all of their customers before closing on the purchase of Time Warner I was suspicious. After all, who ever heard of a cable company being not only true to their word but also forward-thinking? This move will create a significant amount of goodwill within fan circles, and hopefully they can find a way to include other cable carriers soon.

Per their press release:

SportsNet LA will be available on Charter Spectrum TV Select, Charter’s most widely subscribed to tier of service, on channel 44 SD/ 789 HD in the Los Angeles DMA, channel 44 SD / 773 HD in San Luis Obispo, and channel 44 SD in Porterville. SportsNet LA’s Spanish-language game telecasts as well as its Korean-language Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) will also be made available to Charter customers.

“The Dodgers are an iconic franchise and part of the fabric of the community,” said Tom Rutledge, President and CEO of Charter Communications. “We are very excited to be bringing the Dodgers back to Charter customers in the LA area.”

“We’re thrilled that Dodger fans will now be able to watch SportsNet LA’s 24/7 Dodger programming on Charter’s systems,” said Stan Kasten, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers. “SportsNet LA continues to deliver unparalleled coverage of the Dodgers and we hope other providers come on board soon so all fans can enjoy the network’s first-rate programming.”

BTW, Charter is not a significant player in the Southern California market, but this move is a great start. Per a story by Michael Lev at the OC Register:

Ideally, Charter adding SNLA would put pressure on other distributors to
fall in line. This is the best-case scenario, but it also feels like a
long shot. Although Charter carrying SNLA is obviously great news for
Dodgers fans living in Long Beach, San Bernardino, Burbank, Pasadena,
Glendale, Calabasas and other locales, its subscriber base of about
250,000 represents only 5.6 percent of the market. Charter is a domino; it’s not the domino.

Today is the 51st anniversary of Sandy Koufax's third career no-hitter against the Phillies. He became only the second pitcher in the modern era to throw three no-no's - Bob Feller was the first. Photo above via @sportsphotos on twitter.

Below are some links to check out:

Check out a new Dodger blog called "From Duke to Joc, All Things Dodgers" here.

“The power of the group together and more minds is better than one
mind,” (Billy Gasparino) said. “It worked every draft I’ve been a part of. The best
drafts, the best outcomes have been a group reflection of the board and
the players we take, not just one person.

“We emphasized that in San Diego. We’ve had some success. We’re going
to emphasize it here. Josh, Andrew and Farhan have all had their own
success in places they’ve come from and we’re just trying to combine it
all together.”

"I don't know who wants to talk about it. I'm not the one who wants to
talk about it, though," said Mattingly, clearly perturbed. "He was
unavailable."

Former Major League pitcher Rick Sutcliffe tweeted this out; which only adds to the mystery. BTW, you may recall that a couple of years ago he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat - atrial fibrillation:

Panini will once again create special Father's Day cards that will be available at participating hobby stores, and they shared a bunch of pics online. Go here to check out a whole bunch of preview photos. Below are the Yasiel Puig, Clayton Kershaw and Joc Pederson cards.

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“There’s nothing like wearing a Dodger jersey. There’s nothing like it in sports. I don’t care that I’ve never been anywhere else. I don’t care. There’s nothing like wearing a Dodger jersey.” -- A.J. Ellis